I’ve always been a horsey kid. I was fortunate to inherit the horsey bug from my mom, who throughout her youth showed across the country in AQHA Breed Shows. Ever since I could walk (and often before) I was riding around bareback on her sweet and trusty retirees. I owe my mom everything, she taught me the fundamentals of riding and horsemanship, and introduced me to the sport that would shape my life.
I started “formal” riding lessons at the age of 8 in the dressage world. It was new territory for all of us, but my mom and I both quickly fell in love. Before you knew it we were shopping for white breeches, buying a dressage pony, and fully enthralled in a new world. I loved every single second of it, and she did too. Then, our full force joint dressage careers were put in pause earlier than anticipated, because of one little speed bump.
When I was 14, I was in an ATV accident that severed my right, dominant arm, and left me fighting for my life. Between battling multiple other injuries and two nearly deadly infections, the summer of my 14th year became a blur. To be honest, it was terrifying to lose part of myself. While my parents were focused on healing me and cherishing that I was alive, I was focused on something else. All I wanted, was to sit on a horse again.
In true horse girl nature, I sat on a horse again one week after being released from the hospital. Now, emphasis on the “sat” part, I think that first ride was a bareback leadline session with my mom and my first pony. The horses gave me a purpose, a reason, to heal. I wanted to get better so I could ride. I wanted to prove to myself, and the world, that this wasn’t going to slow me down. Without horses in my life, my recovery process would’ve looked much much different.
I’m often asked “If you could wish for anything in the world, would you wish for your arm back?” and I can honestly say, no. While I’m well aware that it’s my most defining physical feature, I’m not embarrassed by it. I’m proud of it. I am now 24, approaching the 10 year anniversary of living in my body as an amputee, and amazed at the beautiful things that have come into my life since my accident. There is not one ounce of me that would change that, because life isn’t perfect. But, life is happy, and I have an overwhelming abundance of that.